Buckle.



G. M. HUBBARD.

BUCKLE.

APPLICATION FILED 1111124, 1910.

1,020,760. Patented Mar. 19, 1912.

UNITED PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE M. HUBBARD, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE W. 80 E.T. FITCH C0., 0]? NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION.

BUCKLE.

Application filed June 4,

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, (Jrlconon M. l'lunmun, a

citizen of the United States. residing at New Haven, in the county ofNew Haven and Figure 1 a front view of a buckle constructed inaccordance with my invention. Fig. 2 a rear view of the same. Fig. 3 a

plan view of the plate, detached. Fig. l a plan view of the shde,detached. Fig. 5 a front edge view of the buckle. Fig. 6 a

transverse sectional view of the same. I i 7 a broken sectional Viewillustrating a modified form of slide. Fig. 8 a top or plan View of thecombined plate and slide illustrating a further modification of myinvention. Fig. 9 a longiti'ldinal sectional view of the same.

This invention relates to an improvement in buckles and particularly tothose now commonly known as slide buckles because the tongue or clampingmember slides, such buckles being commonly used for belt buckles, butapplicable for various other purposes.

The object of this invention is to construct the clamping portions ofthe buckle from sheet metal and connect them to a cast metal frame, andso that the clamping features can be tested and tried before the buckleis assembled.

By forming them from sheet metal such buckles can be produced at a lowcost, and the invention consists in the construction hereinafterdescribed and particularly recited in the claims.

In carrying out my invention I employ 'a plate 2 struck up from sheetmetal. The outer end of the plate is wider than the main portion formingshoulders 3 and 4, and this outer end is provided with a transverse slot5. In connection with this plate 2 I employ a slide 6 formed at itsinner end with fingers 7 which are adapted to fold over the body 2. Theouter end of this slide is wider than the outer end of the plate 2 andits edges 8 and 9 are turned over the edges of Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented Mar. 19, 1912.

1910. Serial No. 565,110.

the outer end of the plate and this slide is formed with a transverseslot '10. The plate 2 is then attached by a rivet- 11 or otherwise tothe cross-bar 12 of a rectangular frame 13 preferably formed from castmetal and including a rear bar '1-land a front bar 15 which is thickenedat the center to form a support for the outer edge of the plate 2 andprovide clearance for the edges 8 and 9 of the slide as clearly shown inFig. The sides of the outer end of the plate rest upon sides of theframe and the slots in the plate and slide correspond substantially inwidth to the distance between the sides of the frame. The shoulders l)and 4 serve as an abutment for the lingers 7 to limit the. outwardnmvement of the slide which is limited in its inward movement by the barA strap may be attached to the rear bar l-L, while the free end ispassed upward through the slots and 10. A pull upon the strap will drawthe slide forward and clamp the strap between the rear edge of the slot10 and the forward edge of the slot 5, the plate and slide being formedcomparatively thin from sheet metal so that those edges will firmly gripthe strap or webbing and the webbing is held irrespective of the forwardbar of the frame which merely gives a finished appearance to the buckle.\Vhen the plate is attached to the frame the slide 6 cannot be removed.The slide may be adjusted with a strap before it is secured to theframe. If desired, and to give additional strength, the slide (3 may bemade double as shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings, and instead of turningthe sides of the slide over the sides of the body, the sides 16 of theplate may be turned downward and inward as shown in Fig. 8 of thedrawings to engage with the sides of the slide 6. In this case the slide6 will be formed with an upturned lug 17 which will extend through aclearance slot 18 formed for it in the plate 2. In this construction thefront bar 15 of the frame need not be thickened as there will be nooccasion to provide clearance for the slide.

The operation of this buckle is the same as in the buckle firstdescribed and has the same advantages.

The advantages of applicants construction are that the parts may befinished before they are assembled and so that the surface finished isnot marred or broken by bending any of the parts in assembling, and

by using a cast metal frame the slide and plate may be of comparativelythin metal and yet produce a strong buckle, and when the plate 2 isriveted to the frame the slide 6 is held against displacement.

I claim 1. The combination with a frame comprising side bars, a frontbar, a rear bar and a transverse bar, of a sheet-metal plate having itsouter end wider than the main portion, the wider end portion adapt-ed torest upon the said side bars and the main portion extend between theside bars, the rear end of the said plate rigidly secured to saidtransverse bar, said plate formed in its outer end with a transverseslot corresponding in length substantially to the space between the saidside bars, and a slide shorter than the plate and slidably securedthereto and made wider at its outer end than the main portion, a slot inthe wider end corresponding to the slot in the plate, the parts being soarranged that the slots will stand adjacent to the front bar of theframe.

2. A buckle comprising a sheet metal plate having its outer end widerthan the main portion to provide a shoulder at each side, and formed inits outer end with a transverse slot, a slide shorter than the plate andformed with extensions on opposite sides of the forward end which arefolded over the sides of the outer end of the plate and on oppositesides provided with fingers which are folded onto the narrow portion ofthe body of the plate, said slide formed with a transverse slot in itsouter end, combined with a frame having a front bar, rear bar andtransverse bar, the rear end of the said plate rigidly secured to thetransverse bar, the parts being arranged so that the said slots willstand adjacent to the front bar of the frame, and the fingers adapted toCopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

